A DeKalb County judge is allowing last fall’s temporarily homeless Stadium View II tenants to press on with a class action lawsuit against the developer despite protests from the defense.

Defense attorney Tim Reuland asked Chief Judge Phillip DiMarzio to dismiss the class action lawsuit filed by the tenants because he said the allegations are improper and the complaint should have been more definite, said Lynn Richards, attorney for Students’ Legal Assistance.

However, DiMarzio said the tenants’ complaint is sufficient under the law.

The students want compensation for the time they spent in local motels while waiting for their incomplete apartments to be finished. The students signed contracts for the apartments with the promise they would be done by August, 1990, but most couldn’t move in until November, Richards said.

People who signed leases for the apartments between January and August of last year will receive notices about the class action suit, Richards said. Potential plaintiffs can choose to join the class action or file their own lawsuits, she said.

Although they are still early in the pleading stage, Richards said she and private attorney Scott Erwin are trying to get fair settlements, which would include punitive damages, rent and attorney’s fees.

“We’re hoping we will work out an amicable settlement,” Richards said.

The defendant has 30 days to respond to the motion for class certification, which was made in court last Wednesday.

Three of the four lawsuits against the developer were settled out of court, but Richards said she doesn’t know if they were compensated.

The class action lawsuit, which was the fourth lawsuit, was filed in May and a judge will determine how it will proceed, she said.

Richards and Erwin, who are unsure how serious the defendant is about settling, are confident they can get the class action certified.